Healthy Eating

Healthy eating starts by making informed food choices. Choosing a variety of nutrient-rich foods as the foundation of what you eat can help you live a longer, healthier life. Tufts experts keep you up to date on everything from shopping for the best meats, fish, fruits and vegetables to nutrition-smart food preparation and more.

Articles

Vitamins & Supplements

The best way to get the nutrients your body needs is by eating a balanced diet. But it's not always easy to meet your daily requirements of certain nutrients from food alone. Tufts experts separate the facts from the hype on supplements. You'll find unbiased information on vitamins like B-complex, C, D and E, supplements like omega-3 and lutein and essential minerals like magnesium and potassium and how they can protect or, in high doses, even harm your health.

Exercise & Mobility

The health benefits of regular exercise and physical activity are hard to ignore. Exercise can prevent weight gain, help you lose weight, reduce your risk for chronic diseases, even improve your mood. There are many ways for older adults to include physical activity and promote mobility. You'll discover in-depth ideas for protecting your mobility and independence, and receive the latest news on joint health, inflammation, and healthy bones.

Articles

Healthy Heart

A healthy heart is essential to remaining active and full of energy. Protecting your heart is easier than you might think. Taking steps such as limiting certain fats and including "good fats" that improve your cholesterol can reduce your risk of coronary artery disease, heart attack and stroke. You'll learn about the most important steps you can take to ensure a healthy heart from the experts at Tufts.

Healthy Mind

Understanding how our brain functions is related to what we eat is an emerging area of fascinating scientific discovery. Learn how certain foods and nutrients affect cognition, and get the facts about brain-boosting foods such as green tea and dark chocolate so you can live the most mentally healthy lifestyle possible for years to come.

Articles

Healthy Aging

Feeling fit and well will help you get the most out of your everyday life as you age. Tufts experts will give you the knowledge to manage your health and offer tips on to increase your energy and maintain your independence. Stay on top of the latest health research to get the most out of life.

Current Issue: April 2015

Activity Benefits Go Beyond Weight Loss

Activity Benefits Go Beyond Weight Loss

If youre looking for motivation to get up off the couch, the results of a large new European study may be just what you need to lace up those walking shoes. Even a moderate amount of exercisethe equivalent of a daily brisk 20-minute walkwas associated with significant reductions in mortality risk. Physical activity contributed to longevity independently of weight loss, and the biggest potential benefits were seen simply by going from completely sedentary to moderately inactive. More

Take Charge!

Engaging in enough daily physical activity to burn about 100 calories can be the difference between a high-risk sedentary lifestyle and being moderately inactive. Of course, youll want to aim for a greater level of activity over time, but just getting going can pay big dividends. Here are examples of activities that burn about 100 calories, depending on your weight, in about 20 minutes: More

Staying Highly Fit Slows Signs of Aging

Older people who are highly fit, such as recreational cyclists, are physiologically more similar to young people than to more sedentary seniors. Thats the conclusion of a new British study that sought to explore the effect of physical activity on key indicators of aging. As one scientist put it, Being physically active makes your body function on the inside more like a young persons. More

Get Your Fiber Fix

Although whole grains are generally a good source of fiber, they are far from the only way to boost your fiber intake. Other high-fiber foods include: More

What Are Whole Grains?

Whole grains or foods made from them contain the entire grain seedall the parts in their original proportions, including the naturally occurring nutrients. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, if the grain has been cracked, crushed or flaked, a food must retain the same relative proportions as they exist in the intact grain to be called a whole grain. This means that 100% of the original grainall of the bran, germ and endospermmust be present to qualify as a whole grain. Refined grains retain only the endosperm portion of the original seed. More

New Reasons to Eat More Whole Grains and Fiber

Take a look in your pantry. Do you see whole-grain pasta? Does the label on your bread say 100% whole wheat? (Are you sure? Dont be fooled by terms like multigrain.) Is your breakfast cereal made with whole grains?
We are very fortunate these daysfor almost any type of baked product there is a whole-grain option that one can choose in place of the refined-grain option, says Alice H. Lichtenstein, DSc, director of Tufts HNRCA Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory. Just be careful; dont try to judge whether something is made from whole grain by its color. It is important to read the label the first time, just to make certain. Some light-colored products are made with white whole grains and some dark-colored products are not and just appear so because caramel or other coloring was added. More

Blueberries Good for Your Blood Pressure and Brain

With the domestic blueberry season about to begin, theres no better time to celebrate the bountiful health benefits of Americans second-favorite berry (after strawberries). New research has linked blueberry consumption to better blood pressure, and Tufts scientists continue to explore how blueberries protect the brain. More than three-dozen current clinical trials are testing blueberries possible benefits for vision, gout protection, arterial function, blood sugar and more. More

Fast Food: Why It Pays to Compare

Making healthy choices at fast-food restaurants remains a challenge, according to new Tufts research, butcontrary to some perceptionsit has not gotten worse. Levels of dangerous trans fats in fries have actually improved, while portion sizes, calories, sodium and saturated fat changed little between 1996 and 2013. More